Thanks Parker!

The alarm went off, I cringed just walking to the snooze button. Damn track workouts! Plan A – Scratched. Plan B in effect; run after work with some one faster than me. I can’t run fast, I’m sore from track. Solution, make her push a 1.5 year old in a jogging stroller. Outcome, perfectly paced 5 mile recovery run!

It was a run like I typically don’t have. We talked quite a bit, the entire time, about nothing in particular. No worries about pace, she struggled with the stroller and I let my legs heal. I did offer to take it for the last 1.5 miles but she refused. At the end she mentioned that I was flexible for dealing with her kid and the stroller, little does she know that without that stroller we wouldn’t have been out there at all!!

Miles trained today: 5

Days till Chicago: 191

Days till Beach 2 Beacon: 130

Days till Cox Half: 30

Some things never change

3 years ago I was anxious when I pulled up to the track. I had on cotton sweat pants and a cotton tee, no special running sneaks. Had no idea what to expect, and was blown away when the expectation was a 3 mile run. Blown away more when I finally finished pulling at times slower than an 11min mile. Today I went to that same track with those same anxieties. I can’t do this. It will be too fast. It will be too hard. I had my running gear on from head to toe and hit the track running. During the warm up I caught up with others who I missed during the winter hibernation. Anxieties started to fade until the bait and switch was unveiled. I came expecting 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m times 3, was told nope, go do 4x a mile. What the f*ck!! Too late I’m here, in the back of my mind I knew I could do this. I had kept up with my workouts over the winter. We started and by the time the 2^nd lap came around I found my rhythm. The arms were moving, breath moving in and out, legs pumping. Sue and I alternated the lead on the miles, keeping steady every lap, at times seeming to be on autopilot. I had gone from being called out for poor form, taking off too fast, not being able to finish, to someone who knew what they were doing and doing it well. It was the confidence builder I needed to start off the season. I can do this, I will do this and Chicago will be a better marathon as a result.

Miles trained today: 6

Days till Chicago: 192

Days till Beach 2 Beacon: 131

Days till Cox Half: 31

Windy, Rainy but fun!

I broke my rules that I swear would not be broken going forward. I ran outside this morning, and had a BLAST! Seriously, going forward I can say that I ran 5 miles during the flood of 2010! Credit needs to be given to Erin for meeting us, there is no way I would have gotten Joe out of bed on my own. Heading out the door, I tried to jump puddles for about 5 mins before hitting on square on. The feet are soaked, lets keep moving! Heading up Charles St, I would have benefited from goggles. No joke, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open with all the water. It wasn’t long before an oncoming car forced us onto the shoulder, squeals and laughter from all when the water line rose about our shoes. Not only was it POURING, but it was pitch black so judging depth of the puddles was nearly impossible. Running down Woodward we could see that the park was more like a lake. The fun and games continues until we turned back onto Charles for the last mile, straight into the wind. This part sucked, the feet were moving but I wasn’t going forward. The wind was brutal and the added weight of wet shoes and socks was taking a toll. It was over before we gave up and would have had to swim home. Please note that had we waited and run tonight it would have been dry, but I can’t help but wonder if we would have enjoyed it as much…

Miles trained today: 5

Days till Chicago: 193

Days till Beach 2 Beacon: 130

Loosing interest?

I’m stuck. I hate long runs, not a good place to be for someone training for a marathon. Part of the problem is that it’s March and Chicago isn’t till April, I’m not sure what the rest of the problem is. The distances do still intimidate me, over thinking all the miles. The training is like learning math, you can’t just jump ahead, and every week builds on the previous week. I seem to have a great long run about every 3 weeks and in between I don’t mind anything from 5-7 but 10+ irritates me. What to do? Going public is my first step, next I’m going to register for the Cox half and focus on that as a distraction. Beyond that I’m open for suggestions, please insist that I get the miles done on a Saturday, no more excuses.

Miles trained today: 6

Days till Chicago: 195

Days till Beach 2 Beacon: 132

It's raining again, *sigh*

There has been too much running in the rain when a day like today doesn’t seem that bad! Now I know that laying in bed I couldn’t hear the raindrops, but looking out the window it was quite clear what was happening. Come on now! I’m sick of being wet, my feet get pruned on runs like these. Rain or treadmill, rain or treadmill, rain won. Thankfully it wasn’t a downpour and not that I want to admit it, but I had a good time today. It always makes for an interesting morning when one is enthusiastically debating healthcare reform and the nutritional needs of school children before 6 in the morning! 4 runs complete this week, 2 to go, fingers crossed that they will be dry!

Miles trained today: 5

Days till Beach 2 Beacon: 134

Days till Chicago: 198

Don't break the rules

There are a few simple runs I have when it comes to running. One of them pertains to running in the rain:

If lying in bed I can hear the rain, I won’t run.

Very simple, I followed it this morning. Alarm went off, while I stumbled to my snooze button, the rain was audible and I went back to bed for an hour. After work it was still raining and although I wasn’t in bed, I’m sure if I had been I would have still heard it. The rule was broken and I went for a run. Bad idea, terrible idea, no good awful idea. There was no one else out there. I knew my jacket wasn’t waterproof, but I thought maybe it would magically become waterproof if I ran outside today. It didn’t. To keep myself going I tried to imagine having to run Chicago in this. If it rains during Chicago I might not run it. 5.5 in the rain wasn’t worth it, I can’t imagine 26.2 would be. Lesson learned, don’t break the running rules.

Miles trained today: 5.5

Days till Beach 2 Beacon: 137

Days till Chicago: 201

You never know

This morning was a disaster, we got up late, moved too slow; 7 mile run turned into a 2 mile mess that would barely count for anything. I planned for the Blvd after work and dreaded it all day. Thought about canceling it, the only reason I did it was my headphones happened to be in my car after work. I figured there was no way it could possibly be as bad as the morning, never thinking it would be a great run. Running on rested legs always feels great, and having been sick all weekend the legs were ready to move. Don’t ask me why they put up such fuss this morning, but this afternoon they were rocking. It was perfect running weather in my book and the blvd looked beautiful. High 40’s with barely a breeze, not quite raining, more of a mist; Grey skies made the green grass pop. There were maybe a handful of other people out, so I felt like I had the trail to myself. I did not bring my watch and purposefully did not look at my car clock when I stepped out, so I don’t know how fast I went. It felt fast, I ran hard. I ran with purpose. Man, did it feel good. Rarely do I enjoy a run, but today I’m basking in it.

Miles trained today: 5.5

Days till Chicago: 201